Rosa hybrida xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99.
The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of miniature rose plant which originated from a controlled crossing between xe2x80x98POULhappyxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,483 dated Mar. 26, 1996) and xe2x80x98KORkleivaxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,232 dated Feb. 22, 2000). The two parents were crossed and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99.
The new rose may be distinguished from its seed parent, xe2x80x98POULhappyxe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. The flower color of xe2x80x98POULhappyxe2x80x99 is red, whereas xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 is salmon orange.
2. The petalage of xe2x80x98POULhappyxe2x80x99 is semi-double whereas the petalage of xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 is double.
3. The size of the blooms of xe2x80x98POULhappyxe2x80x99 is smaller than xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99.
The new variety may be distinguished from its pollen parent, xe2x80x98KORkleivaxe2x80x99 by the following combination of characteristics:
1. The color of xe2x80x98KORkleiva""sxe2x80x99 blooms is creamy white, while the flower color of xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 is salmon.
2. The pollen parent has 1-3 blooms per flowering stem, whereas xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 has 3-5 blooms per flowering stem.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety for commercial culture was to create a new and distinct variety with unique qualities, such as:
1. Uniform and abundant salmon flowers;
2. Vigorous and compact growth;
3. Year-round flowering under glasshouse conditions;
4. Suitability for production from softwood cuttings in pots;
5. Durable flowers and foliage which make a variety suitable for distribution in the floral industry.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization in winter 1997 and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 was selected by the inventors as a single plant from the progeny of the bybridization in spring 1998.
Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 by cuttings and traditional budding was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in July, 1998. This initial and other subsequent propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULra002xe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.